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Can we have a case for the fourth wall? It seemed to have died in that episode. (cf:Batman (aside to camera) “And that’s why there was no case” *winks at camera*)
I’m in mixed feelings. I’m on record as wanting the case more than Steph’s return. Partly because, well, I didn’t want to retcon Batman from “Worlds Greatest Detective” to “World’s Second Rate Detective”. Let me tell you about the time Batman couldn’t prove that his nearest and closest medical ally smuggled his former Robin out from under his Batnose. Let me tell you about the way he bought Leslie’s alibi about killing Steph without question. Let me show you the way that Batman would totally not worry about another sidekick comeback from the grave. Let me show the way the as fabulous as it is to see Stephanie Brown back in the canon, back in the mask, and back from exile, it makes Batman look seriously… not Batman. C’mon, they didn’t even check the corpse? WTF? For serious? Batman is allegedly so paranoid and meticulous he’ll do weird isolation chamber meditation, but totally forgot to check the body in the box belonged to someone who had the wherewithal to break into the Batcave and steal one of the big secret game plans to trigger War Games?
Flipside, I have many many reasons to feel happy at seeing Spoiler back. I just have a large number of reasons to feel that the tidying up of a plot point before BATMAN: RIP (Retcon In Progress) was handled in a quite weird manner. So, yay! Spoiler! and WTF Batman?
I would like to see two things from the Batfranchise though…
- Tim’s relationship with Bruce become strained over “Oh, I suspected but forgot to mention it” particularly in light of Batman 676. Please tell me that someone at DC has a Batfreakingplan to write about this (or kill off Batman before it’s resolv…. oh yeah, BatmanRIP. Crud)
- Steph back in the franchise. Let’s not make this a one shot “There you go G-W people. Now STFU”. DC, invest a bit in Steph’s return. Run with it, make something of it. Give Spoiler fans a reason to spend more money with you
Speaking of the crossover arc of doom. I’m giving Batman:RIPtide a three issue margin of error. If they break out the fridge on Bruce’s girlfriend, then Steph or no Steph, I can’t keep giving money to a company that’s creatively bankrupt in the hero motivation department.
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Lisa Fortuna mentions there’s no Wonder Woman cartoon, and it occurred to me, that I wasn’t immediately keen to see a Wonder Woman cartoon produced. Which, given my loyalty to ElectraWoman and DynaGirl, wasn’t entirely something that made sense to me.
I thought about it for a bit, and what struck me wasn’t that I didn’t want a Wonder Woman cartoon - I wanted there to be more than one go-to female lead for a Saturday morning cartoon. The DC male usual suspects list has expanded from the go-to team of Batman and Superman to include Green Arrow and Blue Beetle. So why just stick with a cartoon Amazon when there’s options for a go-to team from Zatanna, Black Canary, Huntress, Spoiler, Misfit, Barda, Supergirl, Raven, Starfire, Arrowette, Mia/Speedy(II) cartoon, Fire, Ice, or Barbara Gordon (either Batgirl or Oracle)
And then it struck me, that I could hear the auto-counterargument of “But nobody knows who [$female_character] is…” as the reflexive beat down. True, few outside of the comic book circles know Arrowette, Speedy, Fire, Ice et al… just like the way few outside of the game know this chap called Blue Beetle. I like the Blue Beetles (more Ted and Jamie, less so Dan) but outside of fandom, who’s really heard of the Blue Beetle? At least Green Arrow was on Smallville but so was Black Canary.
Beetle? His push will come from the cartoon. So I say it’s time to give the push to some less recognized female characters. I mean, imagine a set up of Brave and Bold II: Oracle, Black Canary and Zatanna.
How much literal, figurative and animated ass would this line up kick?
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It’s been quiet going at the Designated Sidekick cave on the comics front. For one thing, I’ve been spending more money on comics in the aftermath of the Batman dream sequence, which has led to me spending more time reading comics than reading about comics.
There’s also been a few things rise up in the comics sphere where I pointedly don’t have a point to add, comment to make, or contribution that’s worth pixel space, so I’m content to sit back, read, learn, watch and try to catch some XP along the way.
Finally, I do want to make passing comment to Fortuner’s post over at Newsrama. I’m fascinated by the way that a bunch of the DC fandom are visibly upset that Stephanie Brown has returned*
Fascinated for many many reasons, not least of which seem to be centred around the relative absence of fan-hate for the revival of Blue Beetle in Booster Gold. I mean, seriously, it’s a positive year for me - I have Boostle back, Steph got a case (however briefly, but she got that damn case), and potential Steph/Tim angsty gloriously teenage awkwardly written angst.
It’ll be up there with Thor’s great line of why he wasn’t around to save Marvelverse New Orleans - “I was dead”
Come to mention it, when was the last call for Thor’s death?
But, being as I am indeed most curious, if you’re a Steph hater, feel free to open up in the comments on why you’re so unhappy with her return. I’d like to know.
DS
*Me, I wanted the case. I’ll settle for a good story line that resolves the following:
- a) If Batman knew, why Tim shouldn’t hate on Batman for an extensive and extended period of angsty brooding hate since Bruce knew Tim’s pain over the death of his girlfriend, but didn’t think to trust him to say “Tim, need to know basis. Stephanie is alive, that’s all you need to know right now”
- b) If Batman didn’t know, how the hell they pulled that one off past the artist formerly recognised as the World’s Greatest Detective. Did they smuggle her out whilst he was distracted by not recognising a lesbian relationship in the Outsiders? Or maybe it was when he was trying to upgrade the OMAC to Windows Vista?
- c) Which monastery Steph was in whilst she recovered and retrained, and whether she was babysitting Sin at the same location at any point. Whilst I suspect DC has an unlimited array of monastery locations, given the entire Green Arrow franchise goes off to them for vacations, along with Bruce’s original training, and any martial arts trained hero… what’s wrong with the YMCA? I ask ya, where’s the love for the local gym?
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Goddamn Batman! I’m actually excited about getting to the comic store and handing over cash for DC products. Roll on the shopping spree tomorrow!
Dear DC
Thank you for listening.
Dear Friends of Girl-Wonder.
Thank you for speaking.
Dear Opponents of Girl -Wonder
Thanks for letting me quote Christina Aguilera at you.
Dear Mary
Thank you. You thought of it, you believed in it, and look what it’s done so far.
Designated Sidekick
(and damnit, I’m crying because Steph got the recognition so long over due)
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Thanks to Mary, Weaves, and the host of others who have going OMG! about this issue.
Earth to Tim Drake. Thanks for picking up on that one. I see you were trained by the World’s Greatest Detective (/obYoung Justice joke)
I have a vastly lowered set of expectations for Robin 171. I have a total lack of faith in this being anything but a swerve by DC.
This lack of faith is partly based on the experience, and partly on an assessment of the industry. What makes major players in an industry decide that screwing over the buyer was a better choice than selling products? I’m thinking about the way that representative from DC comics admitted to using pages from the Dixon Outsiders run out of context in the DC Previews / Solicits for the express purpose of inciting blogger anger. Using the sales tool to piss people off doesn’t fill me with the sort of confidence that I think they had in mind*
Given that, and the way that various other issues from DC have been handled with a sneer, a dismissive way, and a petulant whine about sales figures, I can’t bring myself to trust DC enough to feel excited about Robin 171 - which means, as some who has a car named Redbird (with the Tim Drake HeroClix and a Spoiler HeroClix on the dashboard), and had been buying the Robin series when it started (including the two variant covers), I wanted back into the love for the comics.
I don’t feel excited, I feel a pre-emptive dread that this will be a swerve, and it’ll be a swerve to go “HAHA! WE TRICKED YOU! YOU SUCK! YOU SUCK A LOT! HAHAHAHAH!” followed a few weeks later with some industry figure going “See? We screwed over the Steph Brown fans, and they didn’t buy up the comics after we screwed them over, so she doesn’t sell that well”.
I want to be wrong about Robin 171. I really do want to be blown away by the return of Spoiler.
I just hope that the opportunity to annoy a cohort of vocal fans is not more important than the idea of selling product to the same group.
Anyone want to bet on 171? Will it be a swerve or straight up?
*I have been reminded that it was Chuck Dixon, the person bringing us Robin 170 and Robin 171. I feel less confident about 171
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